


Parallels

by refusetoshine



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Episode Remix, F/M, Parallel Universes, Season/Series 07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28602771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/refusetoshine/pseuds/refusetoshine
Summary: When coming back to theEnterprisefrom a medical conference, two different Beverly Crushers from two different timelines find themselves somewhere they didn't expect to be.A sort of re-write of episode 7x11 Parallels.
Relationships: Beverly Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33





	1. Welcome Home?

**Author's Note:**

> I've had the idea since I saw Parallels (Episode 7x11) that the episode would have been really interesting if it had been Beverly in the shuttle instead of Worf, especially given the reveals from Attached earlier in the season. I especially wanted to write something about the Beverly from the last timeline Worf ends up in where Picard died in the Borg attack. This story follows that Beverly travelling to the prime timeline, as well as the prime timeline Beverly in a timeline we didn't see in the episode.

_”Chief Medical Officer’s log, Stardate 47391.2: I am returning to the_ Enterprise _after attending a medical conference on Forcas III. I was very pleased to see the results of Doctor Zimmerman’s Emergency Medical Hologram program. It should hopefully be installed on all new and existing Starfleet ships within the next few months.”_

Beverly Crusher paused, a pained expression overcoming her features, before she continued her entry.

“While the EMH programs are not intended to be a replacement for medical personnel,” she added, her voice wavering, “The combined medical expertise in the programming could prove useful in dire situations, like the attack at Wolf 359.”

It had been four years since the _Enterprise_ had encountered the mechanical beings known as the Borg, but Beverly could remember it as if it had been last week. She could still remember walking through the dark metallic cube ship. She remembered the moment she’d seen _him_ and called his name, only to have the red light of an optical implant bored into her memory. 

She could feel a tear roll down her cheek and she brushed it away, cursing at her foolishness. As the shuttle came into the dock, she prayed that it wasn’t Deanna there to welcome her back. While Beverly regarded Deanna highly as a good friend, the counselor’s empathic senses would immediately pick up on her distress. 

As Beverly opened the shuttle door, she caught a glimpse of a red uniform with four golden pips. She breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Welcome back, Doctor.”

At the sound of that familiar accented voice, Beverly froze. She heard the footsteps approach and her heart began beating wildly.

 _”It’s not possible,”_ she thought. 

“Doctor?”

Beverly turned her head slowly. Her wide blue eyes met the concerned hazel eyes of Jean-Luc Picard. The same ones that four years ago, she had given up on ever seeing again.

“Beverly?” he said softly, “Is everything alright?”

\---

On another _Enterprise_ , another Beverly Crusher was greeted by someone she hadn’t expected. 

“Mama!”

The minute Beverly got out of the shuttlecraft, she felt two small arms wrap around her waist. She looked down to see a young girl with a mop of red hair not unlike her own. Confused, Beverly just stood there, not sure whether to hug the girl back or ask for an explanation. 

“What’s wrong, Mama?”

The girl must have sensed Beverly’s confusion, for she looked up at her with a puzzled expression. Before Beverly could respond, there was a sound of approaching footsteps. The girl released her arms from Beverly and yelled out the shuttlebay doorway. 

“Papa!” she cried “Something’s wrong with Mama.”

The footsteps grew quicker. Beverly’s eyes opened wide when Jean-Luc entered the room. 

“What happened, _ma cherie_?” he said, approaching Beverly with an air of extreme concern.

Beverly was simply too shocked to reply.


	2. Recollections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm enjoying writing this, so you're getting another chapter.

“Is this some sort of trick?” she asked, a bit louder than needed.

Picard stared at Beverly. He had noticed her expression when the shuttle door had first opened. She had been shocked, and Picard had even sensed a bit of fear from her. 

“If it is,” she continued, “it’s not funny.”

“Beverly - “

“Oh, don’t ‘Beverly’ me,” she shouted, getting out of the shuttle and rushing towards him, “Whoever you are, you need to stop this right now.”

“Stop what?” he asked.

“Whatever kind of sick joke you think you’re playing!” she shouted, “I’d guess this was Q, but I don’t even think Q would stoop this low.”

“What the devil are you talking about?” 

Picard wasn’t sure why she was reacting quite so viscerally. He reached to touch her on the arm, but she swatted his hand away.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” she growled.

“Doctor, I could write you up for assaulting your commanding officer -”

Beverly scoffed. Picard could see tears forming in her eyes.

“ _You_ aren’t my commanding officer,” she seethed, “Will Riker is my commanding officer and has been for the past four years.”

“What?” Picard asked incredulously. Tears were streaming from Beverly’s eyes now. 

“Don’t act like you don’t know,” she sobbed, “The real Jean-Luc died in the Borg -”

Beverly completely broke down then. Picard immediately pulled her into an embrace. His head was spinning with what she had said.

\---

Even as she came to consciousness, Beverly could recognize the lights of sickbay. She could hear her ever faithful head nurse Alyssa Ogawa talking to another patient, and she relaxed. While she couldn’t remember any specific head trauma, it was the most logical explanation Beverly could think of for what she remembered happening in the shuttlebay.

 _”A weird dream,”_ she thought, _”That’s all that was,”_

“Oh good. You’re awake.”

“Yes Alyssa,” she replied, sitting up slowly, “I’m -”

Beverly took in the appearance of her head nurse. Alyssa had two pips instead of her usual one and was wearing a very similar blue lab coat. 

“Doctor?”

Alyssa took a tricorder from her pocket and Beverly could tell that she wanted to scan her with it. 

“I-I’m fine,” she replied, “Just a bit tired from the conference.”

“Yes, I heard it was quite an event,” Alyssa said, shaking her head, “I still can’t believe that Zimmerman was working for the Romulans.”

Beverly’s eyes widened. 

“What?!” 

Alyssa turned to Beverly with a similar look of dismay.

“You were there, don’t you remember?” Alyssa asked, taking out her tricorder and scanning Beverly for a head injury, “Zimmerman came out to do his presentation for the new EMH but then revealed that he was a Romulan agent and -”

Alyssa had a look of disbelief. She looked from the tricorder to Beverly and back at the tricorder. She tapped her combadge.

“Ogawa to Captain Picard”

_”Picard here. What’s going on, Doctor? Is Beverly alright.”_

“She’s perfectly fine, except...well, I think you should come see this.”

_”On my way. Picard out.”_

Beverly sat on the biobed, more confused than ever. She didn’t remember Alyssa ever having gone through a doctorate, although Beverly believed she certainly had the talent for it.


	3. Little Talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to work today but my brain is not letting me rest until I write this, so here we are.

Over the years, Deanna Troi had become rather good at sensing strong emotions from her fellow senior staff members aboard the _Enterprise_. If they were pleasant emotions, she usually let them slide without thinking too much about them. Even with more upsetting emotions, she would often debate whether it was her place to ask or not. However, when Deanna sensed the almost blinding anger coming from Beverly Crusher, she knew that she needed to intervene. 

“Computer, location of Beverly Crusher,” she asked the closest wall panel.

_Doctor Crusher is in Shuttlebay 2_

Deanna headed down the hallways towards the shuttlebay. As she headed there, she sensed Beverly’s anger change into something more difficult to decipher. There was a strong sense of guilt in her friend, along with a lot of turmoil. She entered the shuttlebay to find the Captain holding Beverly, who was weeping heavily. She made eye contact with Picard. He gave Deanna a quick nod.

“Beverly?”

The red haired woman turned to Deanna and she immediately knew that something wasn’t quite right with Beverly. Her emotional patterns were different than normal. To Deanna, it was almost as if Beverly had come back a different person.

A switch flipped in Deanna’s brain and she went with it.

“Let’s go to sickbay,” Deanna suggested, “I think I know what’s going on.”

Beverly looked at her curiously, but acquiesced. Deanna helped her up, while the Captain also got himself up from the floor.

“I’d like to accompany you,” Picard stated, “If that’s alright with you and Beverly.”

Deanna could sense some uncertainty from Beverly, and her suspicions seemed even more likely to her. 

“I think that’s a good idea,”

—-

Beverly had looked at the results from her scan incredulously. She was in perfect health, as Alyssa had said, but the tricorder was showing her having a quantum signature abnormality. It was an experimental function but judging from everything that had happened to her since arriving back on the _Enterprise_ , it only seemed to make sense.

Somehow, someway, she had landed in a different reality. 

“I fainted from shock,” Beverly explained to Picard. Alyssa had left them alone after explaining the situation so they could talk.

“I take it, your reality is a bit different,”

“You could say that,” she replied, fidgeting uncomfortably. 

An awkward silence enveloped the pair. Both weren’t sure just how much they should tell the other, but both had so many questions they wanted to ask.

“In your reality,” Picard began, “Are you and -“

“No,” she replied, knowing exactly what he had been going to ask.

“Why not?”

Beverly looked at Picard. He was physically identical to the Picard of her reality in every way, but it seemed that somewhere in the different realities, this Picard had become a little less reserved. 

“It’s...complicated.”

“I know,” he replied, “I swore to myself that I’d never tell my Beverly of my feelings for her.”

Beverly gave a half smile. It seemed that some things were constant in both their realities. 

“We were kidnapped by terrorists on Rutia IV,” he began, “And right before we were rescued, she had wanted to tell me something.”

Beverly remembered that moment. She remembered being terrified after Finn had threatened to kill Picard. She had decided in that moment to tell him everything but then the lights had gone out. 

“She told me that she loved me and that she had for a long time,” he explained, “and as she’d started to talk about the guilt she felt, the lights went out and the crew came to save us. When we got back to the ship, I told her that I felt the same way.”

“Your Beverly has much more courage than me,”

Picard looked at Beverly curiously. She found herself telling this Picard about the events of KesPrytt and that disastrous dinner after. 

“I regretted it the moment I walked out the door,” she admitted, “But now, I’m afraid the damage is done.”

“Beverly, if your Jean-Luc is anything like me, he’s a patient man.”

Beverly smiled sadly at Picard.

“But,” he added, “You really should tell him how you feel sooner rather than later.

Beverly laughed and Picard chuckled as well. 

“Tell me about your daughter,” Beverly asked as the laughter died down.

“Her name is Isabelle,” Picard began. 

—-

The trip to sickbay had confirmed Deanna’s suspicion. This Beverly was from a different reality which explained her rather emotional reaction when she arrived. 

The two were now in Picard’s ready room. While he didn’t want to upset Beverly further, he was curious about her reality.

“I understand if you don’t want to talk about it,” Picard began as he handed her a cup of tea, hoping that this Beverly enjoyed it as much as the one from his reality did, “But - “

“I wanted to save you - well, I mean, the Jean-Luc from my reality,” she explained, “But they believed him to be a lost cause. Will gave an order to fire, and it destroyed the whole Borg ship, with him on it.”

Picard could hear the mechanical thumping of his heart in his ears. While it was harrowing to know that he had been killed in that reality, he was relieved to know that the attack at Wolf 359 would not have been carried out.

“I’m sorry,” he replied.

“It was four years ago. I should really be over it by now,” she said, “But landing here and seeing you just brought up a lot of emotions.”

“I understand.”

She took a sip of her tea. Picard could see the mug shaking in her hands. 

“There’s so many things I wish I’d been able to tell him,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Picard gently grasped the shaking mug and put it down. He took her hands in his.

“Like what?” he asked softly.

Beverly looked into Picard’s hazel eyes. He was so much like the Jean-Luc she knew and it broke her to know that she would eventually have to go back to a universe where he no longer existed. 

“That I appreciated so much what he did for Wesley in those first three years on the ship,” she began, “That I never once blamed him for Jack’s death because he did exactly what any captain worth his salt would have done, and - “

Her voice caught and she faltered. Picard gently squeezed her hands. He knew that this Beverly needed the closure and he was more than willing to help her. 

“And,” she continued, “That I loved him. That I’d loved him for years and that I fell long before I ever should have.”

Picard felt his own emotional upheaval coming. When his Beverly had pushed him through the barrier at KesPrytt, he’d asked her why. Her response hadn’t been words, but through their telepathic link, he’d felt it. While this Beverly was not the same as the one he knew, there were enough similarities that he could extrapolate.

“There were times I got the feeling that he felt the same way, but I’ll never know for certain.”

“Beverly,” Picard replied, his voice thick with emotion, “I am certain that he did, because I can’t imagine a universe where I don’t love you.”

Beverly looked at Picard. His eyes were shining and she knew he was speaking the truth. She leaned in and closed the gap between them. It was a soft kiss but it conveyed everything she had wanted to say.

“Thank you,” she said as they broke apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will probably be one, maybe two more chapters after this.


	4. The Send-Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for the feels. This chapter gets emotional. There will be one more chapter after this. I’ll hopefully get it up either later today or tomorrow.

It seemed to Beverly that Data was the same in any universe. As he brought up his plan for trying to send her back to her own reality, she realized that her own Data would have come up with a similar solution. In her own universe, Wesley would have been working right alongside Data and Geordi. She could picture her son on their _Enterprise_ , working diligently to try and get her back. Wesley was always protective of her, but since Jean-Luc’s death, he’d been even more so. She glanced over at this Jean-Luc . He gave a small smile in return.

Deanna got a sense of calm coming from this Beverly. A far cry from the state she’d arrived in. As Data went on about the plan, however, she could sense some mixed feelings coming from the Captain. She’d been aware of his feelings for the Doctor for longer than she’d ever let on. With his blossoming emotional struggle, Deanna wondered just what had happened between this Beverly and the captain.

—-

As they approached the original rendezvous-vous point, Beverly found herself thinking about home. While the Jean-Luc in this reality had been nothing but kind, she knew he was missing his wife, his Beverly. She too was anxious to get back to her version of Jean-Luc. She was determined to make things right between them. The way, they perhaps, should have been a long time ago.

“Sir, we are reaching the rendez-vous point,”

“Thank you Lieutenant,”

Beverly looked over at the tactical station. It had thrown her completely when she’d come into the conference room to see Tasha Yar amongst the senior staff. However things had worked out in this timeline, Tasha had survived the ordeal with Armus. She had decided against bringing up the fate of the Tasha Yar from her universe to this one, although Beverly was certain that this universe’s Deanna could sense her emotions upon seeing the chief of security.

“Sir!” Tasha called, “There are approaching ships from all directions.”

“On screen.”

When the view screen activated, Beverly couldn’t help but gasp.

—-

Wesley had been the one to realize that his mother had been different somehow when she’d come back from the medical conference. He, Data and Geordi had come up with the plan to try and get this version of Beverly back home and get his own mother back. Still, as the cascade of ships appeared on the view screen, he couldn’t help but be in awe. He looked down at the communications panel and his eyes widened.

“Sir, we are receiving 285,000 hails,”

Will Riker hadn’t wanted to take the captaincy. He had felt directly responsible for the previous captain’s death. Even now, four years later, he sometimes felt out of his element. He sighed and addressed Wesley.

“Open hailing frequencies.”

“Hailing frequencies open, sir,”

—-

As they managed to contact her _Enterprise_ , Beverly felt a rush of emotion when she saw her bridge crew. Wesley was standing at the tactical station, and his face lit up when he saw her standing there. 

“I believe we have your Doctor,” 

On the view screen, Will smiled at Picard’s words. It had been awhile since Beverly had seen him smile and it was a nice sight.

“I know there’s a lieutenant here anxious to get his mother back,” Will replied 

It was Beverly’s turn to smile. 

“We’ll send you the coordinates,” Will continued

“Coordinates received, sir,” Worf replied

“Acknowledged. Get them to the shuttlebay,”

“Right away, sir,”

While Worf left to attend to the shuttle preparation, Picard turned back to the screen.

“Tell the lieutenant that his mother has been well taken care of here,” 

“I don’t doubt it, sir,” came the slightly wavering voice of Wesley Crusher.

Picard smiled at the young man on the screen. He was very much like Wesley from his own reality. He made a mental note to give the boy a call at the Academy once this whole thing was sorted out. 

—-

Beverly waited in the shuttlebay. Picard had insisted on seeing her off.

“As delightful as you are,” he stated, “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss my Beverly.”

“As you should,” she replied, “Your Beverly sounds pretty special.”

“Yes, well, that seems to be a common trait among Beverlys.”

Beverly gave Picard a quick peck on the cheek.

“Your Beverly is a lucky woman,” she said.

“And your Jean-Luc is a lucky man,” he replied, with a knowing smile.

She returned the smile as she sat down in the shuttle. As the door closed on this reality, she focused her mind on what she would do when she got back to her own.

—-

As they reached the shuttle bay, Picard found himself at a loss for words. This Beverly was not the one he’d known for so long, but as he’d gotten to know this Beverly, he felt a certain sense of sadness at her leaving. He suddenly felt her lips on his cheek. As she pulled away, he saw a look of compassion on her face.

“I’m not sure what things are like between you and your Beverly,” she said, “But I can’t imagine a universe where I don’t love you either.”

He pulled her towards himself and kissed her softly like she had in his ready room before. 

“Goodbye Beverly,” he said softly when the parted.

“Goodbye Jean-Luc.”

She got into the shuttlecraft and waved. As the doors closed, he waved back. 

This Beverly was not the same as his own Beverly, but she had touched his soul all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to keep the line about 285,000 hails. It’s too good.


	5. Returning Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter! I hope you’ve all enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The shuttle door opened and Beverly was immediately pulled into a hug.

“Mom!”

She hugged Wesley back tightly. While she had seen almost every other member of the crew while in the other reality, Wesley hadn’t been among the faces on the other _Enterprise_.

“I missed you too Wes,” she replied as they pulled apart.

The other members of the crew were there, smiling at the scene. 

“Beverly - “ Deanna began to ask.

Beverly nodded in response and Deanna did not continue the question. Deanna could sense Beverly’s normal emotional patterns, but she had a calmness about her now. Whatever had happened in the other universe, it had brought her a measure of peace. 

_”Perhaps now she will finally heal,”_ Deanna thought, wishing nothing but happiness ahead for her friend.

—-

On another _Enterprise_ , Beverly was also greeted enthusiastically. 

“I missed you, _ma cherie_ ,” Jean-Luc said as he embraced his wife fiercely.

“And I, you,” she responded, hugging him back just as intensely. 

As they pulled apart, Beverly gave her husband a mischievous grin.

“So,” Beverly asked, “What was it like meeting another me?” 

Jean-Luc chuckled.

“It was interesting, to say the least.”

“Oh?” Beverly inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Jean-Luc confirmed, “But as pleasant as she was, you are the only Beverly for me.”

Beverly grinned and kissed her husband sweetly.

—-

“To home!” 

Picard raised his wine glass, echoing her sentiment. Upon her arrival back aboard the _Enterprise_ , Beverly had asked him if he’d wanted to meet for dinner. Picard was taken aback but had agreed.

“Jean-Luc,” Beverly started after taking a sip and placing her wine glass back on the small table beside the couch, “I want to apologize.”

“For what?” he asked, confused, “This whole quantum fissure incident was hardly your fault.”

“No, not for that,” she replied, then added, “That night, after KesPrytt? I was wrong.“

Picard took a breath inward. That disastrous dinner had played over in his mind for days. 

“What do you mean?”

Beverly reached for his hand and took it gently in hers. Although it was practically impossible, he could almost feel his heart racing.

“I don’t want to be afraid anymore,” she replied softly.

Then, just as the other Beverly had done, she closed the gap between them with a kiss. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss, turning the moment into something much more passionate than what he’d shared with the other Beverly. 

The need for air eventually overcame the two, and they reluctantly pulled apart. Picard rested his forehead against hers

“I love you, Beverly,” he breathed.

“I love you too, Jean-Luc.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to try and get this done while I'm feeling motivated, so don't be shocked if you see multiple chapters go up in a day.


End file.
